MERSEYSIDE has the lowest life expectancy in England, figures released today show.

According to data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS), women in the region live to an average age of 80.6, and men to 76.4– both the lowest in England.

When this is broken down into boroughs, Liverpool has the second worst figures, behind Manchester.

Men in the city can expect to live until 74.8, and women until 79.2.

This compares to UK averages of 78.2 and 82.3.

The data is from 2008-10, the most up to date available.

In Wirral and Sefton, male life expectancy stands at 77.

For women, the figures are 80 in Wirral and 82 in Sefton.

The contrast to affluent areas in the South is stark.

In Kensington and Chelsea, men are expected to live until 85.1 and women 89.8.

The gap between longest and shortest expectancies is also widening. The ONS said its figures showed “inequalities persist'' across the UK.

The variations have been attributed to a string of social factors which include differing lifestyles, alcohol consumption and smoking, the proportion of people living in deprivation and the availability of local services.